On 9th July at Tit for Tat’s creation space, Bristol, we met for our very first in person VISUAL Feats research lab. The lab, facilitated by Jenny Sealey, Artistic Director of Graeae, Nicole A’Court-Stuart (Artistic Director, Circus City) and Ryan Murphy (Artistic Director, Tit for Tat) brought together Deaf artists, choreographers, directors and creatives with circus professionals and artists, to talk about what barriers exist to making Deaf-led circus and what circus can be when it’s made accessible to Deaf creators.
We explored first experiences and memories of circus and what they meant to everyone, followed by more in-depth examples of making work more inclusive. This included Olga Kaleta, Bristol-based theatre maker and Dramatherapist, sharing a first glimpse of her short film exploring the integration of BSL in her autobiographical show Period Drama; and Jenny Sealey and Kate White reflecting on the Paralympic Games opening ceremony project delivered with National Centre for Circus Arts in 2012, including sharing a moving short film from rehearsals, Bird Gherl. There was also time to network in sessions and over lunch, with all communication supported by BSL interpreters, before thinking about how Deaf creatives in the room might explore circus in their own work.
To inspire thinking, Ryan Murphy and Maia Ayling (Tit for Tat) led a hat juggling workshop, demonstrating non-verbal teaching approaches and sharing some simple methods for devising with objects. Tasks were designed to be effective for dancers and non circus performers creating circus-style sequences for the first time.
“I don’t think I’ve ever done anything like that before so it was nice just to throw myself into it, try something new“. – Reuben, Access Worker
We explored barriers presented by the circus sector across training and touring, combining knowledge in the room from dance, circus and live art and identified changes we’d like to see across the sector.
“The inclusivity…especially for Deaf people, it’s not really talked about enough.” – Emily Green, Dance Artist
Jenny kept us focussed on solutions, with powerful calls to action coming out of the day that will help to drive our next steps:
“We should really look at the system… how to get these opportunities available to young Deaf people because it’s just a no brainer, it’s such a physical activity that they could absolutely become amazing at” – Maia Ayling, Artistic Director, Tit for Tat.
“It’s vital to have these discussions about circus because there isn’t accessibility in so much of it. So I think it would be great to see more of that in the future for us.” – Ciaran O’Breen, Actor
“In the future I really hope to see more Deaf creatives and Deaf performers involved in these ideas. Also we need more facilitation of these opportunities going forward.” – David Ellington, Filmmaker & Actor
“I’m very excited to see where Circus City is going to go with this because I feel like this has been a really, like a positive start.” – DL Williams, Poet, Writer & Director
The day was an amazing learning experience and provocation for us to continue to develop this work. For us to think about how we support Deaf artists and creatives already working in and around the contemporary circus sector but also how we create the space, conditions and support to welcome new Deaf creatives into UK contemporary circus. We are excited to take on this challenge and to find ways to make this happen.
Watch our short film below to find out more: